I don’t know why I haven’t covered this topic before, but as someone who more than occasionally let’s a swear word slip out, this topic is close to my heart. My academic interest in swearing only started recently when I watched the hilarious Netflix documentary ‘History of Swear Words,’ hosted by Nicholas Cage and a cast of gutter-mouthed comedians and actors.
Funny anecdotes aside, this was a real documentary, with history lessons and all, and it made me wonder whether there was a science of swearing. Lo and behold, there is. Not only that, but along the way, I discovered my parents’ insistence that I never swear – as it was unladylike and crass – was actually doing me a disservice.
In this article, we explore why mum and dad (and millions of other people) were wrong and how swearing can be good for you, because as it turns out swearing can help you achieve a happier, healthier life. Read on!
Swearing is Good for you
Authenticity is a popular topic among positive psychologists, with the thinking going like this: if you can’t be honest with those around you, you will never be truly happy. Throughout history, minority and oppressed groups have experienced the downside of having to hide their identity, often battling higher rates of mental health conditions and suicide. The research shows that if you don’t show your real self, then true happiness will be hard to find or sustain. So, what does authenticity have to do with swearing?
Simply, swearing is a way of telling the truth and being authentic. People who swear are more honest. This is backed up by findings from a study by researchers at Maastricht University, Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, Stanford and the University of Cambridge. The researchers noted that, “We found a consistent positive relationship between profanity and honesty; profanity was associated with less lying and deception at the individual level and with higher integrity at the society level.”
The researchers found that using profanity to express your anger, frustration or sincerity is an open and honest way of communicating with others. So, as long as you’re not using profanity to demean or harass someone else (which is never OK), then letting a few curse words fly can make you seem more authentic and honest to others. It is worth noting that in this study, although researchers found the same positive correlation with openness and truth telling, they also found that people who swear more were also more likely to display neuroticism, and be less conscientious and agreeable… which kinda makes sense, if you’re swearing a lot you probably don’t care what others think so much.
Profanity Helps with Pain and Relaxes you
Another reason to add swear words to your vocabulary is that they help us to cope with pain. In a study by Richard Stephens at Keele University, people had to hold their hand in icy water while repeating either a swear word or a neutral word. After adjusting for a range of other factors, Stephens and his colleagues found that for most people, swearing not only increased pain tolerance, but also decreased perceived pain compared to those who didn’t swear. They found that the people who swore could keep their hand in the icy water up to 50 per cent longer than those who didn’t.
It seems that swearing activates our brains natural pain reducing chemicals, which are similar to morphine. But just like with opioids, overuse of swearing can dull the effects. Researchers found that when people swore regularly, their swearing was less effective at helping to cope with pain. So, it’s better to save your swear words for the times you really need them.
Stephens also suggests that swearing might kick us into a fight-or-flight response, nullifying the link between fear of pain and pain perception. So next time you stub your toe, go ahead and let out an expletive or two and remember, it’s a healthy way of coping with pain and stress.
Stephens wrote a whole book on this subject, “Black Sheep: The Hidden Benefits of Being Bad.” Stephens’ book covers a range of bad behavior that you may wish to rethink, not the least is swearing. You can also check out Emma Byrne’s book, “Swearing is good for you: The amazing science of bad language.”
And yes! Swearing is a Sign of Intelligence
Saving the best for last, this next fact flies in the face of the commonly held idea that people who swear are low-class idiots. In fact, quite the opposite is true.
Research shows that using swear words is a sign of a greater vocabulary – with people specifically choosing to use swear words from a vast array of options and alternatives. Researchers found that people who know a large number of swear words also tend to know a larger number of words in general. And greater vocabulary is correlated with greater IQ, so if you have a greater number of swear words at your disposal, you’re likely to be more intelligent too!
The moral of this story? Yes! Swearing is good for you! So, dust *ff those swear words, spew some pr*fanities and have a hell of a day!